Generally speaking, printers employ media on printer spindle assemblies. As used herein, “media” is any consumable product used in the printer (e.g., labels, receipts, ink ribbon, etc.). The term “media” includes “print media” on which the printer prints as well as the ink ribbon that may supply ink. Media of different widths have different torque requirements. Incorrect torque (i.e., media tension) may result in poor print quality, media wrinkles, print registration problems, black bending on printouts, and in some case, media rupture (collectively “printing problems”). Thus, it is important for the media tension to be set appropriate to the media width.
While systems exist to automatically sense the size of print media loaded into a printer by having an electrical feedback connected to the media size adjustment mechanism, such systems do not tell the printer or user anything about the proper torque values (i.e., media tension) to be used for any given printing job and for media other than print media.
Therefore, a need exists for printers, and printer spindle assemblies thereof and methods for automatically determining media width for controlling media tension.